The Sun. — London, England, 1838-02-09 00:00:00

if who held free which returns of this description could immediately be oh- year, Wv.,7 just as well able airy tained, and it happened that the return now moved for by the hold property to the amount to c a ti tTa i l Hon. Gentleman opposite was to be found very easily in Mr. Sir R. H. DIG us doubted a , hetlier' any profess ional in- Porter's tables up to within a short time of the date named in come ought to be considered asufficientincome. H is own his motion. The return, however, in its terms, could riot be opinion was in favour of freeholdproperty.tat h it did n had at all, for the Hon. Member called for a return of the Lord J. RUSSELL considered appear to r n o m r a e l n i t ~ but as asub'ect of duties collected in Ireland, there being in fact no duty on be a matter which particularlyr d ela h t e ed Hooso to the Government, app bricks in Ireland. It was besides impossible to give a return one which conce d rne t ' called upon as tEecuotha,,yegainsd of the cost of collecting the duties ; for it frequently hap- lation. Onesi e it was not, in his mind, pened that the same person who was employed in collecting as a matter of legislation. one so very As to any very great practical advantage was as mu c h the duties on bricks was immediately afterwards engaged in high importance. the alteration of the be did the collection of taxes on hops or other taxable articles. He to be derived from of th,, qualification, , had no objection to the returns t . these rticulars.— not conceive, from the . opinion a . House, that it was a excep in pa matter of particular importance. He did not find, although The return was then ordered. CANADA. there was a different qualification in S cot l an d and this country, less efficient were returned ; nor even did he find Mr. HUME moved for " The Return of the titles of the that persons . . . that, although the Universities returned Members without free- Acts of the Legislature of Upper Canada, passed since the they were less fit or ualified Lau hter hold qualifications, q ._....( g . ) arric al of the Governor, Sir F. B. Head, in that province, Everybody admitted that a rich banker, without one acre of which, by the Act 31st George 111 c. 31, s. 42, ought to be land—he had never heard anybody say to the contrary—was as laid befo re th e British Parliament, 111., to the sanction of essentially suited to be a Member of Parliament as airy person the Crown being given to them • stating when the said Acts who now held a seat. All the good that he could see . in any were passed in Upper Canada and the dates when laid be ' re- alteration in the present law was to render the qnalification fore the House of Commons, and the dates when they more agreeable to the fact.—( Hear.) It was notorious ceived the sanction of the Crown ; copy of the Act of Legis there were some Members of the House held fictitious lature'of Upper Canada to establishaCourt of Chancery in that pr ov i nce, with powers to qualifications, an d i t created a species of loose dealing, stating wh en Si r F. B. Head dispose of waste lands, Sc., and a neces s it y f or o bli gat i ons and declarations, which aye the sanction of the Crown would be as we 'l avo id e d . H e d i d not know whether it would to that A ct , and whether that sanction has been confirmed by return of the establishment of the the C rown , and when be extended t o p ro p erty i n t h e f unds, to leasehold and other ; Court of Chancery, lately established in Upper Canada, stat- property, but h e cou ld say t h at the principal object should be ing to take care that proper definiti ons s h ou ld b e g i ven as to what Francis He a d to t h at Court the nam es o f the Judg es and officers a and the salaries pp and allowancesointed b Sir possessions or w h a t i ncome s h ou l d constitute a qualification. , the difficulty was to d e fi ne . D ur i ng the last war there was granted t o eac h . " In the absence of the Colonial Secretary, ' he w ou ld a b stain from the observations he intended to make. an income tax, whi c h, if goo d f or taxation, might, perhaps, be also good f or qua lifi cat i on, b ut the difficulty was t o d e fi ne t h at. He w ou ld, therefore, merely state his wish to correct and omit They all agr ee d ( so we understood the Noble L or d) to make the w or d s i n the second -" with powers to dispose paragraph, of waste lands " &c.—Agreed to. the subject o f th e qua lifi cat i on on e for the consideration of a , Select Committee. Mr. HUME then moved for " Copies of the Acts of Par- liament of Lower Canada, passed since 1828, fur the promo- After an explanation from Mr. HAWKES and Sir E. tion of ed ucat i on, and the establishment of schools in that SUGDEN, p r ovince, together with a copy of the last report made to the Sir R. PEEL said there was one objection, which was the [ louse of Assembly of the state of education, and of the num- declaration that a person should be " duly qualified to sit and ben he House of C ommons, an d h e supposed the case of a or sch oo l s an d sc h o l ars i n eac h county, and the numbers in cote in t the whole province." The Hon. Member then read a state- man with 1001. per annum, who a year back had a current in tent from " M‘Gregor's History of Canada in 1833," in con- come of 3001. per annum—would he be in a condition immc travention of that of the Hon. Member for Coventry, who had diately to declare that he was in that condition at the time of asserted that there were not more than two men in a hundred his declaration ? He must say that the present qualification in the province who could read or write. M'Gregor asserted was unnecessary, unless landed property was the proof of the that education had very much increased there within the pre- possession of the property, whereas it was perfectly notorious, vious six years, and computed the schools then existing at 1,200, and could not be concealed, that such was not the case. It might chiefly upheld by a legislative provision, and the scholars at be remedied, but the present system was a reliance on the re -65,000. The House of Assembly had allotted 50,0001. to spectability of an individual, and a confidence in his honour and further these objects; but the Legislative Assembly refused to integrity. That the present system in that respect was looked sanction the grant, so the plan was still in abeyance. upon as a certificate of the honour and integrity of the partveould Lord J. RUSSELL said that the Hon. Member's state- not be denied. He saw no advantage in arguing the question merits did not all disprove the facts asserted by the Hon. Mem- at all ; but he did say that, for security, a certain definite in ber for Coventry, that the inhabitants of Lower Canada were, come, consisting of bona fide property, might be desirable. generally speaking, a very ignorant population. It had b een He objected, however, to chattel property, or such sort of pro stated that they had been much enlightened since 1828; but party as the stallion to which his Gallant Friend had alluded. the fact was that those schools did not admit boys above the (Laughter.) He objected to the present proposed mode, be age of nine years, so that the existence of schools and scholars cause funded property might then appear to exist by transfer ; did not overthrow the fa c t th a t t h e H ouse of Assembly was and if any alteration were to take place in the law, or whether chosen by an ignorant constituency. the proposition of his Hon. Friend were adopted or not, he Sir R. PEEL reminded the Noble Lord that the nine should wish to make the measure as liberal as possible; but, years which had occurred since 1829, added to the other nine at the same time, having det erm i ne d as to what that should be, years attained by the pupils at entrance, might, if fairly rec- he should wish the definition to be abided by. koned, cause some alterations in the results.—(Laughter.) Mr. GOULBURN thought that the object was to Mr. HUME said that the ignorance of the inhabitants of have an equivalent to a landed qualification, which, as the law Lower Canada was altogether matter of assertion, and, evert existed, did not on all occasions necessarily qualify. He ( Mr. if true, did not prove that they deserved to lose their Consti- Goulburn) thought the Bill should be altogether withdrawn, tution.—( Hear.) There were seventy-eight overseers in as it was evidently for a different purpose than it purported to De, onshire who could neither read nor write.—( Laughter. ) be by the title. The question was then put, and the motion was agreed to. Mr. WARBURTON had no objection to the Chairman On the motion of Mr. FA ZA KERLY, power was given to reporting progress. He was glad the Right Hon. Baronet the the Poor Law Committee to report the minutes of evidence Member f or T amwort h and the Hon. and Learned Member from ti me to t i me. for Aylesbury agreed with the general principle of the Bill. On the motion of Lord J. RUSSELL, a Select Committee Mr. BERNAL suggested that a clear income of 3001. a was appoi n t e d t o c o n s id er the payment of rates to which occu- year from any real or personal estate should be the qualifica piers of small tenements were now liable by law. tion required in the clause. VOTES OF THE HOUSE. Sir Rs PEEL explained. He was ready to add a qualifi- Mr. HUME moved that every motion in a Committee of cation derived from personal and landed property ; but he by the whole House on which a division takes place be recorded, no means agreed that the qualification for counties should be and reported in the votes of the day, and the names and votes the same as that for boroughs. Neither did he wish to commit of Members recorded in the same manner as in a division o f hims e lf as to the amount. His meaning was that the IT - the H ouse . qua llcation should be the clear income declared to, and he could After a short discussion the motion was withdrawn, the mat- not let the Chairman leave the Chair while the lion. Member ter Leing left in the hands of the Speaker. for Bridport was in any doubt of it. He thought it sufficient BANKING CO-PARTNERSHIP BILL. that a bona fide declarati on • of property should he made; but. Co_ he also th oug h t i t incumbent on the House to guard against' The Ho use went i nto Committee on the Banking Partnership Bill.a fraudulent declaration, made only to come within the letter. The different c l auses h av i ng been agreed to, of the oath. Mr. COURTENAY proposed a clause to exclnde Life Mr. PRAED also explained. , and Fire Insurance Companies from the operation of the Act. After a few words from Sir E. SUGDEN and Colonel After a few words from Sir W. Follett, Mr. Aglionby, Mr. SIBTHORP, M. Attwood, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, The CHAIRMAN reported progress, and obtained leave Sir R. PEEL thought the decision of the Court of Exche_ to sit again. quer called for the interference of the House. The House then resumed. Sir E. SUGDEN said the only question was one of time, CANADA. and no man could doubt that a Select Committee would ulti- Lord J. RUSSELL s a id th at t h e C anadian Government mate)) , be required. Bill had been sent down from the Lords with one amendment, Mr. COURTENAY then withdrew the clause, the inner- which was to the effect that all Members of the Legislative tion of which he had moved. and Executive Councils should take the oath of allegiance Mr. M. PHILIPS said the decision of the Court of Ex- prescribed by the Act of 1791 before they were eligible to chequer had been already taken advantage of, and would be discharge the functions of their offices. As he was not aware acrain • and this alone was sufficient to show that the House that any objection would be offered to this amendment he hi'd ' A •L 1 • i•• - a acteu rigutly in taxing t h e steps it had done.—(Hear.) hoped the House would permit it to be read. Sir R. PEEL re-asserted that the Court had not pro- The amendment was then read, and agreed to. p ounced any judgm ent , b ut t h at t h ere had only been expressed The House then adjourned, at Twelve o'Clock. a mere intimation of the opinion of the Judges.—(Hear.) The contrary had been stated by the Chancellor of the Ex chequer, who called upon the House to approve of the magna nimity of the conduct of the Government in the matter.— (Hear.) Ile (Sir R. Peel) could, however, see no magnani- Inity on the part of the Government in the business. After a few words from the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER and Mr. ATTwOOO, The SOLICITOR-GENERAL sa id, that al t hough the judgment of the Court of Exchequer had not been pronounced, there had been what was to all inteuts and purposes the same thing._( Hear.) Mr. PEA SE said this Bill affected all ecclesiastical and spiritual persons, as well with reference to mining speculations as to any other. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said a re- Inedy was equally necessary in mining as in banking affairs. Mr. MA ULE said the Act was only meant to apply where the clergyman was, if he might so term it, a naked share holier, and not in cases where he was a director. He thought i t was too strong a measure to apply this Bill to pending suits, a nd esp ec i u ll y to t h at out of which it arose.—( Hear, hear.) Whilst he admitted the necessity of a remedy, he was not pre- Pared to to go the length of depriving a party of the benefit of ajudgment by an ex post facto law.—( Hear, hear.) Mining Companies. He was not disposed to restrict clergy 'len to the same extent as m an y H on . M em b ers seemed to wish to do. _ After a f ew wor d s f rom Si r E . S ugden, the Solicitor kienera , Mr. M. Attwood, and Sir R. Inglis, The Bill was reported, with amendments, with the under standing that it was only committed pro forma. THE CANADA BILL. _ Messengers from the House of Lords brought u p th e Canada Bill, with an amendment, in whi c h th e y b egge d t h e co ncurren ce of the House of Commons.—Ordered to be laid u pon the table. HOUSE OF LORDS, FEB. 8. The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the Woolsack at Five o'Clock. ABOLITION OF SLAVERY. The Marquis of SLIGO presented a petition from Lei cester, praying for the complete abolition of Negro Slavery. The Marquis of CLEVELAND presented a petition from the inhabitants of Barnard Castle, in the county of Durham, to the same effect. The petition was so nume rously and respectably signed, that he had to request the Clerk of the House to read it. MEDICAL QUACKERY. The Earl of RIPON presented a petition from the medical practitioners of Ripon, complaining of the state of the law with respect to persons who were per mitted to enter into the practice of medicine, without having undergone any preparatory education or qualifi cation by law for the same ; and praying for some remedy in that respect. The Bishop of HEREFORD presented a petition, but in so low a tone of voice as to be totally inaudible in the gallery. The Bishop of SALISBURY presented two petitions against the Bill for the suppression of the Bishopric of Sodor and Man. NEW ZEALAND. The Earl of RIPON seeing that the Noble Secretary for the Colonies had just entered the House, wished to know whether there was any answer to be given to the question he had put the other night in reference to a charter for New Zealand ? Lord GLENELG said, in answer to the question whether her Majesty's Government was about to grant a charter to the New Zealand Association, he had to state that after the Government had a communication with the different parties acting for the Association, the Go vernment was disposed to grant a charter on certain conditions ; but the Association not having acceded to those conditions, the intention to grant the charter was at an end. The Association then enquired whether there would be any objection on the part of Government to the introduction of a Bill into Parliament ft.r the purposes contemplated ; and to that the reply of the Government was, that under a review of all the cir cumstances, they did not feel justified in opposing the intro duction of such a Bill, so that the question in that way might be fairly discussed ; but that they reserved to them selves the right to discuss the merits of the Bill a►s it should seem fit to them when the proper occasion presen ted itself. COAL TRADE. The Coal Trade (Port of London) Bill was then read a fond time, and ordered to be referred to a Select Committee. Mr. LABOUC HERE here moved the name of Mr. Pease be insert©d in the list of the Committee, in the place of Mr. Aaron Chapman. —Agreed to. QUALIFICATION OF MEMBERS. Mr. WARBURTON moved the Order of the Day for gain°. into Committee on the Qualification of Members Bill Si; E. SUG DEN hoped that this Bill had attracted the attention of her Majesty's Government. It appeared to him that the subject of the Bill was to give that which was not a re al qualifi cat i on . —( H ear.) As the law at present stood there was no doubt that it was liable to be evadad, but cer tainly not without risk and danger. According to the pre- Setit law a Member must either possess real property entitling him to a qualification or obtain a qualification. Now, it appeared to him that the object of the Lion. Member for Bridport was qualification—(Hear, hear)—and certainly this Bill was so framed as to lead to such a result. What the House wanted Was a ready test of qualification—(Licar)—and not the neces ity of h av i ng recourse to a long trial to discover it. Be had never seen a Bill more cleverly drawn than the present, or one gore artfully drawn up in that spirit of philosophy which gave t _ eye what it denied to the understanding.—(Laughter. ) t h i ' l l°wed a man to say that he believed he was qualified—a thy lig which it might not be a very difficult matter to make orlo believe. He hope the Bill would not fail to attract thta, att eation of he r M a j esty ' s Government, and he would take i, nde OpPortunity of saying that he was not wedded to a mere tai n t Property qualification—( Hear, hear)—although he Ger hui, 3 ' 4 ' a general ru l e pre f erred such a test. He thought, i tlter e _ v r, that when it was considered what great commercial were represented in that House some qualification Le tlo g fripnipersonal property might be established—( Hear, pqt)---tlte House at the same time, taking care that the pro hi4 was bona fide that of the person claiming under it. The ca Bon. Gentleman concluded by saying that unless the Pro ve ',, a Te out of Committee considerably altered and im mr'. 1,1!_ should oppose it at a future stage. RefoWARBURTON stated that upon the discussion of li eati on riT t Bill, Lord Althorp had said that the existing . qua 4'olv th a , W aS a stringent one. The object of the Bill was to although a person might not possess the means of Lis 4p, a r esponsible qualification, he should be able to take ufhith s h o t th e table of the House, and give those as s ura n c es ,Nlet,ibnld convi nce t h em of his respectability. The H o n. I tTsi N er for Cornwall (Sir William Moleswor.h) wished l as t a t° get r id of the qualification altogether ; but from 1 1 ° 1 th en stated f rom b oth sides of the House he was led e g ut that there was no objection to the alteration ; and 1 11 i0 as 4 : 4 1° 1 1 , 1 , 1n1y was whether it - should extend to chattels as h i eati o , ~.211 Property. He admitted that the proposed qua. i t eitt jas Out sufficiently stringent; but he thought the st unn: Gentleman, at the same time, had characterized li t , °44 nitt e Justly, If they would make any modification in h 5 , to answe r the purpose he had in view, he should 1 15 1 IL N :PPY to agree in that modification. He could assure 14 11 41 , , it h 8 wa s viv):snot wedded to his own Bill, and that he did SlD,'' A treated as a party measure. , Iv, ta for`tr-,1) wished the Bill - had gone further or stopped o ° ,. ,eees sar it 'night be even a question whether qualification 'kv () %;' . re 4 di n Y ,, a all. When he had given his vote for the in of , t 1 ,Oe had certainly understood his vote be I °lth e rle' g l a i. :, l fiation. li"ant IMO R P thought that the qualification might .'ge be troublesome.—(Laughter.) According to teal %tit Shout the coutry, making so many hundreds a The Earl of RIPON was glad that the Government had taken this course.—(Hear.) He presumed that whatever Bill was to be brought into Parliament would be introduced in the character of a private Bill, so as to go through all the proceedings of a private Bill. . Lord GLENELG said that he should doubt whether it would be in the character of a private Bill, but he was not prepared to say how that would be. CANADA. Lord REDESD ALE, seeing the Noble Lord the Secretary for the Colonies i❑ his place, wished to know how it happened that so meagre a return had been laid upon the table of the dispatches that had been received from Canada requiring more military force in that country. —(Hear, hear, hear.) The Noble Lord had not lai upon the table of the House the answer he had sent to the letter of Sir Colin Campbell requiring more forces in Canada. If the Noble Lord would not lay on the table of the House a copy of the answer of the 3d of August, perhaps he would be good enough to say whether it contained any reference at all to the Commander of the Forces. Lord GLENELG said, the reason that the answer to which the Noble Lord had referred had not been 'did on the table of the House was, that the letter from Sir Colin Campbell and the answer related to a question with respect to Canada which it was not thought proper to give publicity With respect to the other part of the Noble Lord's question, Sir C. Campbell had required one regi ment to supply that which had been taken away by the or ders of Lord Gosford ; and with respect to the other part of the Noble Lord's question, whether any allusion was made to the command of the forces, be was not prepared to an swer that. Lord REDESDALE—Then am I to understand dis tinctly, that there was an application made for additional forces received on the 3d of August, 1837, and that that met with a re‘usal ? Lord GLENELG—Yes. IRISH EDUCATION. The Bishop of EXETER gave notice that he should to-morrow put a question to her Majesty's Ministers rela tive to their intention with respect to the revival of the Committee on Irish education. Lord BROUGHAM presented a petition from the Agent of the Earl of Stirling, her Majesty's Hereditary THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1838 Lieutenant. of Nova Scotia, pTayipg to be heard at the bar in defence of his rights, which had been invaded. CANADA. Lord GLENELG moved the Order of the Day for the third reading of the Canada Government Bill. Lord EL LENBOROUGH stated that lie had been pre vented by indisposition from offering any observation s upon the Bill in its former stage ; and such being the case, he trusted that their Lordships would allow him to offer some observations upon the Bill in its present stage. He felt that it would be right not to go upon the present occasion over ground that had been trodden before. He did not think it would be fair on this occasion to enter into the consideration of the course adopted by her Majesty's Government ; but at the same time he felt it right to state that he agreed in all that fell from the Noble Baron on the subject, and he also concurred with what fell from the Noble Lord opposite. He agreed that all the instructions were just, although severe ; but he asked whether the measures of the Noble Baron were to be those of the Bill, or of his instructions. There was this objection to suspending the Legislatur e and substituting the Government provided by the Bill—that the most favourable opportunity would be lost for settling the affairs of the Colony. The Bill was founded upon the state of the Province, upon the latest information which was received when it was brought in, but it ought to be passed Only on the latest information which had been received. The last dispatch of Lord Gosford stated that the revolt was completely suppressed—that wherever armed bodies of the insurgents appeared they were dispersed, and the leaders were either killed or taken prisoners ; and that even the revolutionary newspapers had disappeared. The dispatch further stated that loyal addresses were re ceived from all parts of the colony professing the attach ment of the people to the Queen, and condemning in the strongest terms the reckless ambition of those who had brought the miseries of civil war upon the country. It further stated that the people had everywhere shown the utmost readiness to arm themselves on the part of the existing Government—that the Roman Catholic Clergy had universally manifested every disposition to support the Government—and that the Bishop had issued a pastoral letter to his Clergy, enjoining them to use all their influence to preserve order. Everything showed that no further organized attempt wa s likely to be made to disturb the peace. He had read those passages, because he thought that in a proceeding of so grave a character as this Bill, the House ought to act on the latest information. In the actual state of things the preamble of the Bill did not support its enactments, nor could they be justified in saying that the House of Assembly could not now meet. The Bill would destroy the opportunity which now offered of permanently settling the Government of the Colony. There was now an opportunity of carrying in the House of Commons any change which the Government might like to effect. Men could be brought together, if not in the old Parliament of Canada, at least under a new election, who would meet with a sincere desire to maintain the connec tion with this country, and to establish the Government of the colony on a satisfactory basis. In May last year, the Noble Lord opposite informed Lord Gosfold that the Government was prepared with measures which would settle all the questions at issue. Why were all those measures to be postponed for two years, when they must be brought forward under less flivourable circumstances ? There were many objections to the union of the two Pro vinces into one Legislation. The people of Upper Canada would have a,hostile feeling to those of Lower Canada, to whom they would attribute the suspension of their Consti tution, and the Go vernment would find the majority of the one province in combination with the minority of the other more difficult to manage. It was impossible that the deci sion of a Parliament elected from the two provinces would lead to a satisfactory settlement. The Bill would be re ceived unfavourably by not only the Lower Canadians and the French, but even by those of the English who approved of the conduct of the House of Assembly. He called attention to what Lord Gosford had said as to the effect produced when the resolutions proposed by Lord John Russell were received in Lower Canada. They were not received with approbation even by the' party in whose favour they were passed. Lord Gos-, ford distinctly said that even those who reprobated the withholding of the supplies were grievously dissatisfied with that part of Lord John Russell's resolutions which authorised the taking of money from the chest. If such were the state of feeling amongst the friends of the British connection when rebellion was menaced, how would they receive a measure like this Bill, when the rebellion was suppressed ? When the state of things menaced rebellion, the Committee of the Legislative Council reported to Lord Gosford, that they did not recommend the suppression of the Constitu tion, although tiy thought it advisable that some parts of it should be suspended for limitel a time. Beyond what he had stated the Executive Council had not proposed that there should be delegated, during the suspen sion of the meeting of the Assembly, any power of making, laws ; they never contemplated the violation of the Constitu tion to that effect, they had merely desired the continuance of expiring laws. Therefore this measure went beyond that which was proposed by the Executive Council, and without justification. Likewise he (the Noble Lord) thought if they could judge of the feeling that would he excited, from the feeling that was excited last year, when the Resolutions were sent out, there was every reason to believe this Act would be extremely ill re ceived in Lower Canada, not only by the French Canadians, but by those attached to England. If the Noble Baron desired to put off the settlement of this ques tion—if he desired to throw from his own shoulders upon the the shoulders of the Governor of Canada the responsibility of the measures necessary for the settlement of the differences with the Canadians—if he desired to extinguish the Assembly and to establish an Aristocracy—he 'had now got a good opportunity. If, on the other hand, the Noble Baron had desired at once to make a settlement of the affairs of Ca nada, he certainly could not have selected a better time than the present. There was no time at which he would have received greater facilities in Canada, nor any time at which he would have received greater facilities in England. —(Hear,. hear, hear.) He (Lord E.) deeply re gretted that this latter course had not been taken, because a more favourable opportunity could not have presented for a settlement, and an amicable settlement, of the affairs of Canada than the present. It could not be con cealed from any man of sense, or of the slightest discern ment, that so long as there existed a tendency to revolt in Lower Canada, there was the greatest danger of the greatest calamity that could befal this country, namely, a collision with the United States. That danger was every day becoming more and more imminent ; and her Majes ty's Government could not fail to make the danger more imminent still by passing an Act of unneces sary severity —an Act which would not only displease the French Canadians, but even displease the English Cana dians, and be the subject of constant observation by all the inhabitants of the United States, and induce them more and more to feel a sympathy for the discontented Canadians. Care should be taken not to awake the sympathies of the French people, on behalf of the Canadians of French origin. In conclusion the Noble Lord said, that with these impressions, feeling that to-night they were called upon to take a step from which they could not depart, that it was one that carried with it the peril of a collision with our own subjects, with the United States, and with France—be lieving also that it was alike impolitic and unjust, he should say "Not Content" to this Bill. Lord GLENELG said the Noble Lord had ably and candidly stated his objections to this Bill, but he (Lord G.) could not agree with the Noble Lord in his anticipa tions as to the effect of this measure. It was not his (Lord G.'s) object to establish an Aristocracy in Canada, nor to crush the French party in that country.— ( Hear, hear, hear.) Doubtless, great and important interests were involved in this measure, and momentous results might follow from its adoption. He (Lord G.) must observe that the Noble Lord on this occasion was not supported in the views he had taken by those with whom he usually acted. It could not be denied, that this was an interval in which impor tant events might take place ; and if he (Lord G.) could be persuaded, or if their Lordships could be persuaded , that a system might be adopted by which the Constitution of Canada might be made to work harmoniously and satis factorily to all parties by other means than the measure now proposed, he (Lord G.) would be happy to accede to it ; but he did not think that would be the case. The Noble Lord said, why should there not be a new Assembly under the present Constitution ? At the present moment the great objection made to the sort of plan which the Government had skatched out—namely, an immediate Government for Canada, and prospectively to others—the great objection was, that the first thing that ought to be done was to look to the present present state of Canada, and restore peace and tranquillity there. With what pro bability of obtaining so desirable an object could re sort be bad to a new election ? Look at the excited state of that province. He thoul4lit the Government would be severely condemned, if, under such circumstances, they went to a new election. The Noble Lord said that at present all was tranquil ; he (Lord Glenelg) hoped that the statements of Lord Gosford were correct ; but even if they were so, considering the excitement that existed in the minds of all parties, it would not be safe to hazard a new election. He admitted that the rei.olt alone was not a sufficient reasoi f or the Bill ; but he thought no one looking at what had taken place could doubt the ne cessity of the measure. If the electors of Canada were ap pealed to, it would prove that worse results would take place. After long concessions—after repeated appeals to the can dour and good sense of the House of . Assembly—they resisted all their efforts at conciliation—clogged the wheels of Government, until the affairs of the colony were thrown into a state of confusion.—(Hear, hear, hear.) The Noble Lord had said, give protection ' to the English ; but he would say,•give protection Loth to the French and the English settlers, for he was convinced the greater portion of the French settlers were of opinion that nothing but the interposition of the English Parlia ment could save the colony from utter ruin. With respect to the amendments in the Constitution of Lower Canada, to which the Noble Lord had adverted, he would be glad that at this moment they could meet the general feeling on this point. He quite agreed w i t h t h e Noble Lord that they were bound to consult, as far as possible, the feelings and opinions of the people of Lower Canada on this subject ; but in the present state of excite ment into which that colony was thrown, it would be impossible to legislate at this moment for any amendments in the Constitution that would be satis factory to the Canadians. If the Parliament had taken advantage of the present circumstances of the Colony to impose its own laws and regulations, it would have been a most unworthy and ungenerous proceeding. The course which they had adopted was a wiser and a nobler one, and would redound more to their credit with posterity. These were the sentiments that animated the Government. They looked to the future prospects of the colony—they entertained a regard for the feelings and wishes of the people—and they thought that it would be unwise at the present time to institute any amendments in the form of the Constitu tion. It was on these grounds he ventured to oppose the proposition of the Noble Lord, feeling, as he did, the course which had been adopted by the Government was that which was warranted by reason, principle, and common sense. Lord ASHBURTON concurred in the opinion of the Noble Lord who had just sat down, that the settlement of this question ought not to be made at the present time. Ought not the Noble Earl (Lord Durham) to have the power of calling together the Assembly of Lower Canada, in case the misguided people should return to their allegi ance, and tranquillity be restored? The people were driven to revolt, partly by the opinion they entertained of the policy of the Government. There had been in the measures adopted towards Canada a want of decision, and firmness, which had led to unfortunate results. With regard to the measure now before their Lordships it was unquestionably a severe one, but what other remedy had been suggested ? If the plans which had been put forth were succeeded in,the object of the French Canadians would be connection with France ; and that would be a commercial injury to the country. The French Canadians had long been desirous of keeping up their national independence and peculiarities —an object in which they must have seen they would be frustrated, as the emigrants from the British dominions swarmed in upon them,. and hence the vigorous exertions which in recent years they had been making in the hope of effecting their darling object. With res p ec t t o t h e va l ue o f the colony itself, he (Lord Ashburton) entertained the opinion ten years ago— an opinion which he still held—that the value of' these pro vinces, as a colony, was much overrated. In former times the system of colonization was an important national considera tion, because Spain, Portugal, and France were all exerting themselves to engross the chief portions of the new world, and endeavouring entirely to exclude other nations from the advantages of traffic with them. Subsequently, however, not only had the greater portion of these possessions been lost to the great powers who engrossed them, but an entire relaxation had taken place in the system of colonial trade, which entirely destroyed the exclusive importance of the colonies to the mother country. There were some excep tions, perhaps, to this view, as in the case of Malta, Gibraltar, Jamaica, and some others of the West India Islands, which were important as harbours arid military stations. At the time of the original conquest of Canada, however, the only object in securing them was the protection of our other Colonies. Under existing circumstances it might be a question how far these Provinces, with their long and ex posed line of frontier, were worth defending. To defend them, if hostilities were really commenced, would not be to involve ourselves in a " little war." We should have to put out our whole strength, and then we should be still fighting in a war of defence, which was always a losing war. In his opi nion, it would have been much wiser, at a time when the most peaceable feelings existed between the Canadians and the Pa rent State, to have told them that as long as they desired the connection to remain in force they were at liberty to enjoy it, but that as soon as they considered their interests prejudiced by that connection, we were ready to hold out our hands, and part as friends, with every feeling of goodwill and friendship. If he were of opinion that the Colonies could be permanently held as appendages of this country lie would act differently ; but he thought the course he had before referred to would be more worthy of the character and the dignity of this coun try, and would he more likely to conciliate the people of the Colonies.—( Hear, hear, hear.) This was his opinion respecting Colonies generally ; but he was ready to admit that the time for acting upon these opinions was a time of quiet, and when they were not pressed by circumstances ; and undoubtedly no time was less opportune than when the colony was in open rebellion. In the present case the great diffi culty arose from the peculiar nature of the colony, and from the intermixture of our own people both in Upper Canada and in Lower Canada with the French Canadians. If he found that in Upper Canada the people were desirous of a separa• tion, lie would not for a moment seek to retain them by force, provided they showed that they were capable of self-govern ment. But this was not the case : the people in the Upper Province had given the strongest possible proofs of a different feeling when their feelings had been recently put to the test— ( Hear, hear.) Having made these observations, he would take the liberty of suggesting whether there ought not to be the no w E e a r r l o f of c a D I i u n r g h a t i o n g ) e i t n h e t t r i et the e A c u his co s _- tion of his sembly cf Lower Canada, little as he thought it probable th a t good left with the NoblenissioEnartlh that could be done to any purpose. The Earl of MANSFIELD did not rise to oppose this Bill, but he must say it was merely because the Bill w as founded upon necessity—a necessity which he at once acknow ledged, and which was founded on the cond uc t o f t h e H ouse It was, however, w i t h t h e greatest reluctance of Assembly. that he consented to take away any of the rights under a free Constitution enjoyed by any portion of her Majesty's subjects, or depriving them of the representation of a po pular assem bly. They were in a very awkward predica m were engaged i n a contest which many of en. They m t would hey not live to se e , an d none of them could confidently predict, the issue. Eve r y step s h ould be con colonies--a syst em o f conciliation and jus tice. sidered as a type of that system which we s h ou ld adopt towards It h o s ur ould be an indicati on o f the conduct which they were determ ined t o pursue; and th e measure o f j ust were about to pass ought not to be un dby a declaration of th at system. It might be severity they accompanie conceived that such a declaration was contained in the pre. amble. le e thought it wou.d have b een a b etter course, and message from the tine more consistent with precedent, if that declaration had been made in a . . Crown. In considering wasS e c t r e e t t a h r this very extensive subject their Lordships must take into e conduct of the House of Secretary, and the state of the two con sideration the conduct of the House of Assembly, of the Go- A r ssembly that he looked for a justification of this measure p ve e rn y m in e e t e i (Hear, hear.) He had been very much struck Of severity.— by an observation of the . Noble and Learned Lord (Lord as to the right which Parliament had given to Brougham) e of Assembly, and yet, on the first occasion of their the Hoy n s o. that right, proposing to take it away from them. e N x Te e y r s ei h s e i e the Earrof Mansfield) could not conceive that the House v of Assembly was justified in availing itself of an unfor tunate•sien of imposing condition s in the Act of 18:31 elms- which against the Noble Duke near him (the —an omission ,Wellm,gton) and a Noble Earl now no more, but who Duke of stlooffCthaenaTal.miilasi at tlse head of the Colonial department for many had been • . vain. ,_, remonstrated in 1 he Assembly, therefore, in years , ; might be said to refusing supplies, view he took of the Constitution of the He would state the I f this. In the first pl ace t h e diff erent branches country and o of the L eg i s lature had different powers, the antagonist forces of which kept the Government in a proper state ; but experi ence had shown that when the rights of one branch were pressed so as to invade the rights of an y ot h er, the conse quenee had been of necessity a viol en t c h ange. In this view a pparently the House of Ass em bl y o f Lower Canada had a cted. Not only did they endeavour to effect a redress of grievances by refusing the supplies, but they refused to go on w eb the regular business of the country ; so that when the Hous e of Assembly was prorogued it was doubtful whether there had bees a session or not. This was an important doubt ; for, if there had been a session, certain Acts of Par liament had ceased to exist. This stoppage of the public business had been characterised even by the loudest advocates of liberal measures as factious. What could the Governor do? Was he to call a new Assembly? In the present temper of the colony he greatly doubted whether there would be any change in the House of Assembly, and more particularly when the colony was labouring under the excitement conse quent upon a proclamation of martial law. He wished to make a few remarks upon the conduct of her Majesty's Mi nisters. That conduct had been impugned by several Noble Lords on that (the Opposition) side of the House, and he must say that he had never seen a charge so ably stated and so little refuted. He must also say that the conduct of her Majesty's Ministers in sending out the resolutions of last year without founding a Bill upon them was highly censurable. And here he must ask, whet were the intentions of her Ma jesty's Ministers ? for, after all that had been said in the other House of Parliament, and after the dispatch of the 27th of May, his convicti on was that no Bill was intended to accom pany the resolutions. This was a pretty general suspicion at the time, and he must say that the result had shown that it was a very good guess. There was a reason to suppose that this suspicion had extended to Canada. These resolutious, which were so well calculated to give rise to much dissatis faction and to create irritati on , were' wholly inoperative, and co uld not be ected upon. The Noble Earl who was about to proceed to Canada was instructed to collect the opinions Of the people, in order to enable Parliament, after due delibera tion, to remedy the defects in the Constitution of Canada. It appeared to hint that the mission of the Noble Earl was something lik e t h rowing the settlement of these questions into Chancery ; it was like granting a lease of the disputes. He thought that the instructions given for the guidance of the Noble Earl (the Earl of Durhsm) must undergo very consi derable alterati on. He thought they ought to recite the R . - I ferent subjects on which that Noble Earl should be directed 1 to take opinion and advice. They ought also, in his opinion, to recite the resolutions of last Session, and they ought to refer to the great inconvenience resulting to her Majesty's i subjects in Canada fur want of regulating and adjusting dif ferentquestions respecting the trade and commerce of both provinces. These, he thought, would form very fit subjects of inquiry. He did not know whether the Noble Earl was limited by these instructions, but it appeared to him that there was one subject of inquiry which deserved the Noble Earl's attention, and that was, whether it might not be possible to repeal the Act of 1791, and thereby consolidate the two provinces; and instead of having two distinct Legislatures, with authority on all matters exclusive, effecting a reunion of the provinces as they were before they were separated by the Act of 1791. He would make a few observations with regard to the inten tions of her Majesty's Ministers in conjunction with this Bill. It appeared to him that the subject must not be considered by itself. As to any declaration of the intentions of her Majes ty's Ministers, he had not been able to find it from the com mon reports, nor to extract it from the speeches addressed to their Lordships. When the Noble and Learned Lord (Lord Broueham) stated his views of the proportionate advantages and disadvantages of holding our colonies, the Noble Baron ( Lord Glenelg), in his answer, did not adopt or refute the Noble and Learned Lord's opinions. He thought that it be- ' came imperative on her Majesty's Ministers to declare their intentions with respect to these points, and to state whether they intended to preserve the colonies or not. Advantages were derived by the colony from the mother country, and the mother country derived advantages from the colony. In his opinion the advantages were reciprocal. The time would come for the colony to separate from the mother country. One Noble Lord had alluded to this separation in terms of eloquence which he could not venture to imitate. That Noble Lord had said that a time might come when British colonies might wish to separate from them, and to such colonies they could say, " We protected you in your infancy, we have given to you institutions that you value, but still, if you wish for separation, then follow that course which seems best adapted for your own interests —pursue that line which you are in clined to adopt, and may fortune attend you ; but in separat ing- from us you will carry with you the recollection of the great men of England; you will remember with pride how they have distinguished themselves in arts, in science, and in learning ; with you we are by blood perhaps connected, and by name identified—farewell, and remember the country that fostered you in your infancy. " Jamque vale et matris serva communis amorem." He was not one disposed to anticipate the time for a separa tion taking place, nor was he at all disposed to provoke it.— (Hear, hear.) But this he must say, that whenever a sepa ration should take place from those loyal colonists, it ought to take place under circumstances that must induce them to be come faithful allies. But what he said with respect to the British colonists, did not apply to the French Canadians. This class of men had been loyal to the French King, and they had become by conquest subjects to this country, and their obedience was rather to be looked for from their sense of honour, than from their regard for this country. It was, he considered, most important to know from her Majesty's Mini sters whether they were determined upon maintaining the control and dominion over those colonies ; or whether they meant to anticipate the separation taking place at some time, if not at that very moment. He had no doubt he should be told that they were determined to resist separation.—( Hear, hear.) Then he might be allowed to say, that when they made the declaration of their being determined to maintain a control over the colony, they ought to evince their sincerity of their determination. The Noble Duke had stated that they were at war, and that it was impossible for this country to carry on a war upon a small scale.—(Hear.) He wished to know, did her Majesty's Ministers adopt that maxim ? (Hear.) It was a question which every one asked who was interested in the preservation of the colony, and to which every one wished to receive an answer. The answer, no doubt, that would be given again by her Majesty's Ministers would be, " Certainly we mean to carry on war, and not war on a small scale." He certainly thought it was most impor tant for them to know whether an additional force was to be sent to Canada by increasing the army, or by taking forces from this country. He had heard a report upon this subject which he considered it to be his duty to mention. It was, that the Noble Earl (the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland) had declared that he could spare a considerable force from that country.—( Hear.) He did not know whether in making such an offer the Noble Lord had not over estimated the tran quillity of that country. He did not know whether the " Dux inquieti turbidus Adriw," he who had the province of settling, as well as of raising, the waves of civil commotion, was so inclined that the troops could with safety be spared from Ireland. He did not know whether that same person might not consider the time of their removal a convenient time, not for the commutati on , b u t f or the total ab o liti on of tithes, that which he had threatened their Lordships would be the consequence of their rejection of the former Bill; a threat, too, which had been reiterated in that House, or if not, distinctly intimated as the inevitable consequence for which they should be prepared. He did not know that there would be either prudence or wisdom mani fested in the withdrawal of that force from Ireland, even if recommended by the Noble Lord the Lord-Lieutenant of Ire land. If the Noble Lord recommended the removal of the troops upon the ground of the tranquillity of the country, he could reply, that their Lordships might see, by the Gazette, specimens of that tranquillity which it enjoyed. It was his opinion that Parliament would not consent to a reduction of force in that country.---,( Hear.) He did not like to speak that which might appear to be imbued with party violence ; but he was then speaking his own opinions, and not those of' others, and he felt bound to state, as he did with confidence, that to his own knowledge this was the feeling prevailing with regard to her Majesty's Ministers, that a great portion—a very large portion of those of influence and of large landed property, felt and complained ef the incapacity of her Majesty's Ministers, from which they wished to be liberated, tie had frequently felt and stated, that, considering the great influence which the Noble Duke possessed in this country—an influence which was never greater than at this moment, and, considering the in fluence that a Right Hon. Gentleman possessed in another place, he had wished that they took a more active part in op position to the present Government. He had said and felt this; but then he was led to remember that those who incurred no responsibility ought not to be prompt to condemn. When there was apparent an infirmity of purpose—when men declared they had a certain object to accomplish, and then showed vacil lation in carrying it into effect—when they did that which had been done with respect to Canada and also to this country—then he thought the only means of extricating the nation from its pre sent difficulty was to determine either on bringing in a measure of conciliation and proceeding to a settlement of the dispute in the present Session, or, if war was to be continued, then, if not dictating to Ministers, they ought to lay a respectful ad dress at the foot of the Throne, declaring to her Majesty that if war should be continued, it ought to be continued on the extensive scale pointed out be the Noble Dukc.—( Hear.) The Noble Lord concluded by declaring that it was only by pursuing a course of firmness now that they could insure the respect of other nations and the gratitude of their own. The Marquis of LANSDO WNE closed entirely with the opinion stated by the Noble Earl in the commencement of his speech ; it was on the ground of necessity that this Bill had been recommended to their Lordships. He entirely con curred in the sentence pronounced respecting it, that it was destructive to Constitutional rights in Canada; which Con stitutional rights, had they been exercised in a way which was at all consistent, he would not say with the safety and honour of this country, but with the safety and prosperity of of Canada itself, it would be impossiute for their Lordships to listen to. He was ready to agree with the Noble Earl that whatever difference of opinion there might be entertained as to the course to be pursued, the manner in which it was enunciated was a matter of trifling importance, whether it was enun ciated in the preamble of the Bill, which, in compliance with the suggestion of others, had been withdrawn, or whether it was contained in instructions laid on the table, or in a message from the Crown, or by the last and most important mode of all, by a declaration of every man of every party in the House, including, he was glad to find, the declaration of the opinion of the Noble Earl, that nothing but necessity was the foundation on which the measure rested.-4 Hear, hear.) Ne cessity caused the Bill ; and it was fair to state that, when it was the object of the measure to destroy constitutional Go vernment in Canada, it was also the object of the measure to provide for the re-establishment at the earliest possible period consistent with the admitted necessity of eliciting the opinions of the Canadians. The mail question put by the Noble Earl to her Majesty's Government was one to which he said he was most anxious to elicit an answer: it was this—whe ther it was the intention of her Majesty's Government to pre serve these colonies or not? Without hesitation he re plied to the Noble Earl that it was the intention of her Majesty's Government to preserve them.—( Hear, hear.) No one on that side of the House saw the period, no one possibly could designate the period, at which a withdrawal of the colonies from the mother country could with advantage take place.— ( Hear.) They did not do that which would be inconsistent with their duty ; and in this they partook of the opinion of the Noble Baron and of the Noble Earl who had spoken in a former stage of these proceedings, that it would be most unwise t 3 act upon the supposition that there was no pos sible state of things in which a separation might not take place, and that under new circumstances it might be desir able for the mother country, and for the colony itself, that the separation should ensue, and might ensue, as it had ensued with the United States of America, most beneficially for these states and the mother country from which they sepa rated. The Noble Baron, in quoting from a work from which he was not surprised to find any advice taken, mixing as that work did the soundest practical wisdom, drawn from expe rience, with the most just observation, the Noble Baron, bor rowing an expression from the despatches of the Noble Duke which had been lately published, said that as in the Peninsula so ought they to do in Canada, that " it was most desirable to go out of it like a gentleman through the hall door." He did not think that the occasion existed in which the hall door was open for them through which they might honourably retreat. —( Hear, hear.) He said that the condition of Canada excluded them from making an honourable retreat.—( Hear, hear.) He was not prepared to make it, and he would not advise its being made.—( Hear, hear, and cheers.) As. long as he had the honour of holding a seat in her Ma jesty's Councils, no effort should be lost upon his part to advise her Majesty to make every exertion in her power to prevent separation.—( Cheers.) He could not support sepa ration even upon the theory that the population were favourable to it. On the contrary, they had evidence affoaded from every part of Canada, not only that in the English but also that amongst the French party no such agreemetn: to a sepa ration existed. The Canadian party thought that there was no desire on the past of the Queen's Government to establish unconstitutional Goverament amongst them. The conse quence was to detach from the agitators all those of moral worth in Canada; and the conduct of the agitators since the contest commenced was such, he was sure, as to make their influence but slight and feeble hereafter. By the last accounts that had been received they knew that there were addresses upon addresses pouting in from the French party who had taken no part in the late proceedings of the violent agitators, and expressing their confidence in and their loyalty to the Queen's Government, and their dislike and abhorrence of the_ acts of the agitators by whom others and not they had beerk. • • misled. He stated distinctly that this was the feeline ente r tanned in Canada towards the Queen's Government. But th e Noble Earl was not satisfied with this; he seil that her Majesty's Government ought not only to have the inten tion of maintaining the connection with the Colony, but also to use the means for carrying it into effect. The Noble Earl had asked, did they intend to employ these means ? He had little hesitation in answering that question. It was undoubtedly the intention of the Queen's Government to use the means—to use all the means—that were necessary to give full effect to that determination.—( Hear, hear, hear. ) He had now he thought, answered distinctly tile two questions put to him by the Noble Earl. He did not mean to follow the Noble Earl into other parts of his observations ; but the Noble Earl had stated grounds for hesitating 'to place confi dense in the Government. It was not for him to judge whe ther the opinions of the Noble Earl were well-grounded or not ; but if the Noble Earl felt deeply impressed with the opinions he had expressed, and thought it would be wise to , embody his opinions in a distinct motion, then it would be the duty of her Majesty's Ministers to meet it.—( hear, hear.) If this had been an earlier period of the debate he might have followed the Learned Gentleman who had appeared at their bar through what he must consider some of his misrepresen tations of the circumstances under consideration, and more particularly would he have felt himself called on to remark on the Learned Gentleman's observations on the conduct a Right Hon. friend of his, formerly Secretary for the Colonies, he meant Mr. Rice. The Learned Gentleman's description of the conduct of Mr. Rice was not founded on fact, and must have proceeded from an entire want of recollection of every circumstance that had occurred. Lord BROUG HAM, when he reflected on his position in this House during the former stages of this Bill, and com pared it with the altered position in which to-night he found himself, to observe the contrast betweed the two was remark ably encouraging and pleasing to him. He no longer could be said to stand here alone to denounce this measure. He no longer could be complained of as being left unsupported oil all hands in his opposition to this Bill of tyranny and injustice. He no longer stood up among their Lordships to have yelled at him—sometimes the lighter missives of sarcasm and taunt—sometimes the heavier artillery of statesmen, and seldom indeed anything approaching to an argument. He no longer stood there to have all those matters launched at his single and unsupported head ' • but he had the gra tification to know th a t lie - had lived to see truth making its way, and to find himself supported by some of the most respectable Members of their Lordships' numbers in what he formerly should have reckoned in this place, as it almost universally was out of doors and in the other House of Parliament, the most hopeless part of his whole views. And if io be supported in his views, if to find an advocate to back and stand up for constitutional privileges, were grateful here to him to-night —as it was to find himself sup ported on those principles —h ow much must his gratification be heightened when he found that, besides the respectability of those supporters in point of talents, experience, and character in that House, who had lamented, as the one did, the unconstitutional and arbitrary nature of this measure, and as another did, who actually announced his determina tion to vote against it for its injustice—those two were two who had descended from and bore the honoured names of two of the greatest luminaries of the law—the greatest, perhaps, in the administration of justice in this country that this country ever produced, and who bad left to their descendants a prouder inheritance than the titles they won for themselves and bequeathed to them, viz., their own unextinguishable love of the liberties of their country and adherence to its laws, and abhorrence of their violation— ( Hear, hear)—he might well feel pleased with that change in his present position. He felt that he could no longer be de nounced as a partizan, by argument an encourager of rebellion, and taking part in the revolt. He had even been designated by a pretty plain indication as something like Cataline, for that he lied rushed out of the House as that ancient senator had done—( A laugh)—for that he had rushed out of the House as that Roman senator did after he had delivered him self of a long, and apparently, by its effects, a not unforeseen oration, against the Lord Glenelg of that time.---( Laughter. ) He admitted that the comparison was not to be carried fully out—there was not another such as the Noble Lord; but if he had not a companion in these proceedings to the whole extent to which the likeness might have been borne, the comparison was good in the most essential and important particular—that of objecting to the gross injustice of this measure—a measure which outraged every principle of justice—punishing the innocent with the guilty—making no distinction between the wrong-doer and those who had aided in repelling that wrong-doer—subjecting the whole province to the loss of their liberties because a few parishes in a single county had attempted an unsuccessful re bellion—thus punishing as well those who, instead of revolt ing, alone enabled the Government to put that revolt down, without whose aid they never would have succeeded in put ting down the revolt—pinishing them with the same loss of their liberties which it was said the Legislature had a right, with, as it was called, a just severity, to inflict on the rebels themselves. But they were now told that the delay which had marked more or less the whole of these proceedings, which be gan in March, 1836, which continued in April, which con tinued in May, which was seen still in the month of June, and which might further be traced through the whole of the re mainder of the year—they were now told that this indecision, and delay was not accidental, as some had presumed to ima gine, that they were not unintentional, as others might have supposed—that they were not arising from any defect in vigour and natural activity, as a third class of reasoners might fancy—that they were not attributable, as the Noble Earl op posite charitably supposed the other night, to an inveterate in firmity of purpose—to wavering and indecision—no such thing • it was all d es i gn; i t was all v i rtue—(Laughter) —it was all system; it was all the consequence of that natural but invincible repugnance which his Noble Friend had felt to enter upon any course that could be imagined to savour of strong measures—of unconstitutional measures—of rash measures— of measures of severity to the colony —to his reluctance to en croach on the people's privileges —to suspend their constitu tional rights. It nraight be so; there was nothing wonderful now-a-days.—(A laugh.) The longer one lived the less one wondered—(Laughter) —and this was all within the verge of probability. But really, if his Noble Friend had not given the sanction of his grave and high authority to that view of the matter, he should have been disposed to say—he would not use a harsh expression —that it was utterly impossible for any person to credit it. But if such reluctance was shown by these constitutional men to adopt harsh proceedings, ought they not to have been reluctant to pass the resolutions of last year ? There was no reluctance then ; they produced them on the 6th of March. The time, it appeared, for reluc tance and delay was after all the mischief had been done. What was the fact ? It was precisely three weeks back that they applied themselves vigorously to enforce the laws, and to maintain justice, so that from the argument of his Noble Friend it would appear they were excessively harsh and violent when they ought to have deliberated, and they were exces sively slow, very reluctant, and most undecided, when they ought to have adopted a course bold, vigorous, and decided. Of course, this reluctance which they were told bad been ex hibited they must expect to continue. The reluctance which had been felt to bring in the present measure would show itself' in sending over so many thousand bayonets to carry it into exe cution: He now began to understand why that which he had before complained of had taken piece. He had asked how it happened that if the sending of a dictator over with a Bill in his hand to destroy the Constitution was necessary, on account of some parishes having been guilty of irregular proceedings, how did it happen that, instead of going over immediately, the Noble emissary sent on that urgent occasion delayed so long going forth towards the point of his destination, as if rebellion looked to the Almanac—( A laugh)—as if State affairs de pended on the barometer—as if the assembling of parish. Committees, District Committees, and Central Committees depended on certain times of the year, as in ancient days, when. there was a regular suspension of arms on the approach of: frost, and the campaign was not renewed till the second ore third swallow came hovering around the camp ?—( Laughter.) That observance even in war having been long since dis pensed with, he was at a loss to conceive why in these ne gotiations it was thought necessary to go by the weather—he was at a loss to conceive why his Noble Friend the Noble Earl did not proceed to his place of destination till the month of April or May. But if her Majesty's Ministers felt a strong repugnance to this measure—if they were afflicted with con stitutional qualms on this occasion, how much stronger must be the qualms of his Noble Friend, whose language had al ways been so much more decided on the side of constitutional freedom even than theirs.. It was as plain as a parish Church that the reluctance in him was much greater than :et those who framed the measure. He could not be persuadedi to go till he had tarried so long as to satisfy the people of Canada of his extreme reluctance to undertake the mission, so that when he arrived there he should have made it mani fest to all mankind in that Province that his consent had been wrung from him like gouts of blood to administer an unconstitutional measure, and fur a harsh and tyrannical purpose. He would now return to the short point which alone remained for discussion. His Noble Friend, who had been listened to, as he always was, in proporCon as he de served to be on all subjects, but on no subject was he more: deserving the attention of the House than this—his Nobles Friend differed from the Noble Baron sitting near him in fails opinion as to the course which ought to be taken with a view to the common object of settling these important matters of dif ference, and accomplishing peace. He differed in this ;it was his opinion that the difibrences could not be settled here, but that they must be arranged and settled in Canada. Did not his Noble Friend perceive that, though his opinion might be sound in itself, it was no argument in defence of the present Bill ? His Noble Friend was supposing—if he did mean to use that argument as a defence of time measure—that the pre sent Biil gave the Noble Earl no power of supplying the mea sure that might be necessary to an arrangement. It not only gave him no such power, but it was directed to that point a the compass.__( Hear.) It was indeed directed to a totally ,different point—to the point of inquiry. Judging from what they had seen, they must conclude that the inevitable result of the - measure would be non-settlement and delay. Instead of sending out Lord Durham to settle the question, the mea sure would leave it more unsettled than it was. If % he i went out with any other powers than the Bill gave him he _ would go out with powers not contemplated in the Act or in his instruc tions; for, from beginning- to end, all authorised was inquiry, m q, u 'ev inquiry—report, report, report : they had no one other object. It was the inefficacy oftaliieed of fromplanto theaccomfirplsti.sh To avowed object that he had complained 1 putjff r r e neeneds settledto the present amicablepainful s a t r a r t a e n o g f e t m b e n n tg t s s — at t i s o f agcettotrhy tu these ( to send a Gove rnor with full *1:sola sides—itet .rsnot only wlytaos ce treat but tto grant. They had provided the Nolee Earl with no powers to treat or to giant; they 'cad afforded him only the power to enquire ; and they had dis closed w:iat their notion was as to the speediness with wl rich, that course being pursued, the settlement might be expr .cted to be accomplished. They laid down the principle the at no power ought to be given until information was obtained l